Title IX praised, assessed on 40th anniversary

Myra Miles, athletic director for Hoover High School in Hoover, Ala., is shown with some of her football and baseball memorabilia. (The Birmingham News/Beverly Taylor)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- One of the newest trophies lining the display cases at Hoover High School is from the Lady Bucs basketball team's 6A State Championship, the second one for the girls in three years.

In December, the team is invited to attend the Washington, D.C.-based Fourth Annual National Title IX Holiday Invitational Conference and Classic, where top nationally ranked female high school basketball programs will converge.

"They are true champions in the classroom, on the court and in their community," said Janice Dove Johnson, executive director of the Sankofa project, which is organizing the conference. "We look forward to hearing their reality as it relates to Title IX."

As Title IX marked its 40th anniversary on Saturday, national experts agree the federal law, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in schools that receive federal money, has had a profound impact on equal opportunities for young women in Alabama, both on the sports field of competition and in the classroom. But they also say the need remains for vigilance in its enforcement.

An analysis by the National Women's Law Center found this month that in most states, especially in the South, boys participate in sports at far higher percentages than girls. In 62 percent of Alabama high schools, there were gaps of 10 percentage points or more between the number of girls enrolled and the number participating in sports. That's one of the five worst percentages in the country, and the report says it "raises critical questions about Title IX compliance."

Federal court cases are still being filed in Alabama, alleging that school systems don't offer the same athletic opportunities for girls as for boys.

Myra Miles, the athletic director for Hoover High -- which has other successful girls sports such as track and field and swimming -- acknowledges that without Title IX, women wouldn't have as ample opportunities in education and sports.

"I don't think there were many women athletic directors in the A$?'70s," she said. "But now you see that a little bit more regularly. That's an area you see huge strides made."

According to the Alabama High School Athletic Association, 37 women across the state are listed as athletic directors, although the number could be higher because some principals are serving as athletic directors, said Ron Ingram, an association spokesman.

Miles can remember her high school days at what is now Florence High School, when parents had to make the warm-up suits for the girls basketball team.

"It was just that time," she said. "I don't remember any fussing about it. I never felt like I was mistreated."

She also recalls how the women's coach unsuccessfully sought to put volleyball lines on the basketball gym floor, but was turned down by the male coach.

"You would never hear of that going on now," Miles said. "I don't have negative feelings about my high school career or the coaches, but I look back now and I think, 'We've come a long way.'"

Three decades later, the Hoover girls basketball team is sponsored by Nike.

"Years ago, you would never hear of a girls high school basketball team being sponsored by Nike," Miles said. "The great thing about that is that it alleviates some financial strain off parents. They earn that. That's the beauty of it. The tradition of the program has been very successful."

Before Title IX, all across the country, fewer than 300,000 girls played high school sports, according to the report "Title IX, Working to Ensure Gender Equity in Education" by the American Association of University Women. The report said just 7 percent of all high school athletes at the time were girls.

At the college level, there were fewer than 30,000 female athletes in 1971-72. By 2010-11, the number of female athletes at the high school level had climbed more than tenfold to nearly 3.2 million -- 41 percent of all high school athletes. At the collegiate level, the number exceeded 190,000, about six times the pre-Title IX rate

"There's no doubt, Title IX has been an incredibly successful civil rights law," said Lisa Maatz, director of public policy and government relations with AAUW.

The law has made the largest impact in sports, but it also gives girls the opportunity to pursue math and science, requires fair treatment for pregnant and parenting students, and protects students from bullying and sexual harassment in academics and employment.

Maatz said before the law, it was far more rare for women to be in military academies, in law and medical schools.

Montre D. Carodine, an associate professor of law at the University of Alabama law school, sees the impact of Title IX firsthand. She said the ratio of female to male students is often roughly equal, in what traditionally had been a male-dominated field.

"We are sending women all over the country in various high-level legal positions," she said. "They are working for judges, becoming judges, working in various blue-chip law firms. That's exciting to see."

Carodine credits Title IX with providing the opportunities for her success. She will be associate dean for special programs in January.

In Alabama, women now lead some of the state's largest universities. Dr. Carol Garrison is the second woman to be president at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Dr. Judy Bonner, executive vice president and provost, is serving as the University of Alabama's interim president.

This year also brought more success in women's sports at UA. The Alabama gymnastics team won its second consecutive national championship April 21, led by Coach Sarah Patterson. The school also had its first national championships in women's golf and softball.

But national experts said with the celebrations, there are still opportunities for growth, especially in boosting the number of women in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.

Maatz of AAUW said sexual harassment also remains an issue for women in schools, as well as making sure pregnant teens are given equal opportunity for learning.

Fatima Goss Graves, vice president for education and employment for the National Women's Law Center, said girls in Alabama still have fewer opportunities than boys to play sports.

"Four decades later, you shouldn't see this," Graves said.

According to the AHSAA, the 2010-11 sports participation survey showed 30,134 girls participating in 10 sports at 412 schools in Alabama, while there were 60,871 boys participating in sports.

Ingram, the association's spokesman, said that without football factoring into the figure, participation is about equal in Alabama. He found the law center's participation gap figure for Alabama girls "odd."

Ingram said Alabama, in comparison with other states, has more small schools that are financially unable to offer sports, but Alabama supports its female athletes.

"Title IX was the impetus," Ingram said. "but what's made the difference is that coaches in the community schools embraced girls sports from the very beginning, and the girls flocked to the sport. We are very proud of our girl athletes. That's been one of the best stories in the 20th century."